DfE School Workforce Census: Thu 4th Nov 2021 Return by: Fri 12th Nov 2021
The statutory School Workforce Census takes place on Thursday 4th November 2021. We strongly advise schools to do a dry run prior to this date to identify queries with your data. Devon Guidance notes for LA Schools using SIMS.net will shortly be available via: https://www.devon.gov.uk/supportforschools/administration/school-census
Changes to data items for 2020
- New data item – newly qualified teacher (NQT) – this will be used by the DfE to track whether NQTs are in their first or second year of induction. All early career teachers undergoing statutory induction starting from September 2021 are entitled to two years of high quality professional support based on the Early Career Framework (ECF). State funded schools offering statutory induction will receive additional funding to deliver the new ECF. Funding for the second year of induction will depend on data submitted in the Workforce Census so special care should be taken to ensure the information is correct.
Sims users: this new field is located via Focus | Person | Staff. If the QT Status check box is selected in Professional Details then a value can be selected in the NQT Status field.
For further details please see the DfE Workforce collection guidance available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-census-guide
- Return of data items – the following items which were optional in 2020, due to the pandemic, have now reverted to being mandatory;
- Absence data,
- Qualification data,
- Date of last pay review
- ‘Subject’ and ‘Tenure’ (within vacancy data)
- Third party support staff data
SIMS users – Fileset
Schools must have upgraded to version 7.194 or above and must have imported the most up to date fileset – 1907 at the time of publication. If you are a hosted school, Scomis will apply filesets automatically for you. If you encounter any difficulties please contact Scomis on 01392 385300. Non hosted schools will need to download the filesets from the Scomis website and apply themselves https://faq.scomis.org/kb310871/.
Teacher Pay Ranges
At the 2020 Spending Review, the Chancellor announced the government’s policy to temporarily pause public sector pay growth, which includes a pause on pay rises for teachers in 2021. Therefore the pay ranges for 2021 will be the same as in 2020. Further information is provided here. As teacher pay generates a large number of queries in the census we recommend schools check their pay ranges in sims to ensure they are correct before running a return.
Missing Contracts
Each year a significant number of schools upload members of staff without contracts. When producing the census in sims, please run the Summary Report and check Table A which states whether you have members of staff without a contract. If there are, check the Workforce Member Area Details Report to identify the member of staff (there will be an “x” in the Contracts column in “snapshot on census day”). If they should be included in the census please add a contract or Service Level Agreement. If not, please exclude them from the census (eligible for SWR tick box).
COLLECT Credibility reports
The DfE have produced a range of credibility reports in COLLECT to help schools check their data. A summary from these credibility reports will be included in the Education Information Team’s data checking report that will be sent to schools. This will indicate any data that needs to be checked and any additional credibility reports that the school needs to run in COLLECT. As schools are responsible for accurate submissions these reports should be run and queries should be investigated and resolved.
EDIT School Workforce Census Checking Service – School Reports
As you may be aware the Education Information Team undertake a number of quality checks. Any queries will be listed in our new ‘Workforce Census Checking Service – School Report’, which will be emailed to your school for your attention. The report will provide details of any queries along with guidance on what action needs to be taken.
Uploading Files to COLLECT via DfE Sign-in Portal
We are aware, that some schools, have in the past encountered difficulties with their COLLECT access. We therefore ask that you check your COLLECT access by logging in to the DfE Sign in Portal as soon as possible. If you encounter difficulties logging in click on the ‘Having problems’ link on the webpage.
Further Guidance
Our School Workforce Census guide is available via https://www.devon.gov.uk/supportforschools/administration/school-census
The DfE School Workforce Census guide is available via
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-census-guide
Scomis maintain a School Workforce Census Bulletin website which has latest information on known issues, changes and filesets: https://faq.scomis.org/kb382676/
If you have any queries, or if this is your first workforce census, please email census@devon.gov.uk and someone from the Education Information Team will contact you to provide support and guidance.
Kind Regards
Education Information Team (EdIT)